05-15-2009, 10:23 AM
Sad that it had to go...
But don't blame the mayor: He's not the only Left Winger on council and it takes more than one vote to do anything one way or the other....
Don't even blame the economy, even though it sucks right now.
Blame the hobby itself.
Model Railroaders are spoiled rotten with the number of RTR items available. It takes a lot of overhead cost for a hobby shop to stock one of everything, only for the fickle model railroader to browse without buying anything because the road-number or livery on an item wasn't the one that they wanted. Plus, they can buy it cheaper on-line.
I've seen several Hobby Shops that have stopped carrying Model Railroad stuff because they can't compete, or else, they've gone out of business altogether...
Growing up in the North-West Corner of the city, I didn't venture downtown as a kid.
The nearest Hobby Shop was in Rexdale Mall [ further west ] or the Hobby Hut in Yorkdale Mall.
Downtown was the Eaton Centre and another Hobby Hut.
By the time that I was a teen-ager, the model trains were moth-balled and I was playing FRPG's.
When I got back into model railroading a few years ago, all the old stores in the malls were long gone.
Now, George's Trains has moved to the boon docks and I won't be making the pilgramage there any time soon.
I went to the short-lived Den of Trains at Bloor Street and Royal York Road, then to other west end stores like North-Star [which has stopped carrying model trains] and Panther Hobbies. Or even further west to Credit Valley Railway Company. Keith's Hobbies didn't carry any model trains, but they had other useful stuff and was just a short walk from where I work, but they've moved wayyy out of the city.
If I'm heading east, it will be to Hornet Hobbies but I'm more likely to make the trek to Johns Photo and Hobby at 2188 Danforth Avenue first...
But, sadly, most of the things that I am looking for aren't stocked by the local hobby shops, so I'll be doing most of my shopping on-line...
But don't blame the mayor: He's not the only Left Winger on council and it takes more than one vote to do anything one way or the other....
Don't even blame the economy, even though it sucks right now.
Blame the hobby itself.
Model Railroaders are spoiled rotten with the number of RTR items available. It takes a lot of overhead cost for a hobby shop to stock one of everything, only for the fickle model railroader to browse without buying anything because the road-number or livery on an item wasn't the one that they wanted. Plus, they can buy it cheaper on-line.
I've seen several Hobby Shops that have stopped carrying Model Railroad stuff because they can't compete, or else, they've gone out of business altogether...
Growing up in the North-West Corner of the city, I didn't venture downtown as a kid.
The nearest Hobby Shop was in Rexdale Mall [ further west ] or the Hobby Hut in Yorkdale Mall.
Downtown was the Eaton Centre and another Hobby Hut.
By the time that I was a teen-ager, the model trains were moth-balled and I was playing FRPG's.
When I got back into model railroading a few years ago, all the old stores in the malls were long gone.
Now, George's Trains has moved to the boon docks and I won't be making the pilgramage there any time soon.
I went to the short-lived Den of Trains at Bloor Street and Royal York Road, then to other west end stores like North-Star [which has stopped carrying model trains] and Panther Hobbies. Or even further west to Credit Valley Railway Company. Keith's Hobbies didn't carry any model trains, but they had other useful stuff and was just a short walk from where I work, but they've moved wayyy out of the city.
If I'm heading east, it will be to Hornet Hobbies but I'm more likely to make the trek to Johns Photo and Hobby at 2188 Danforth Avenue first...
But, sadly, most of the things that I am looking for aren't stocked by the local hobby shops, so I'll be doing most of my shopping on-line...
Ron Wm. Hurlbut
Toronto, Ontario, Dominion of Canada
Ontario Narrow Gauge Show
Humber Valley & Simcoe Railway Blog
Toronto, Ontario, Dominion of Canada
Ontario Narrow Gauge Show
Humber Valley & Simcoe Railway Blog